House tentatively approves revamping Texas Ethics Commission

Posted by Leigh Evans on May 12, 2015

The Dallas Morning News - The Texas Ethics Commission would get more enforcement power in a bill overhauling the entity that passed in the House late Monday night.

This bill is among the those addressing ethics, something Gov. Greg Abbott declared one of his emergency items of the session. It was approved overwhelmingly though there was much debate on failed amendments that would have required elected school trustees to file personal financial disclosures and dismissed ethics complaints not completed within a year.

The legislation — carried by Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place — would allow for the Texas Ethics Commission to disclose confidential information to law enforcement agencies. But that would be limited to the law enforcement agency and any other disclosure of such confidential information would be a Class C misdemeanor.